https://x.com/jeremybtc/status/2045999167559069858
Two MIT brothers stole $25 MILLION from Ethereum in exactly 12 seconds. The jury couldn't decide if it was even a crime.
> Anton and James Peraire-Bueno both studied computer science at MIT.
> Their father was the former head of MIT's Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
> In late 2022, they found a vulnerability inside MEV-boost, a piece of software running on 90% of all Ethereum validators.
> They spent months planning. Set up 16 fake validator nodes. Ran test transactions to study how MEV bots behaved.
> Then they baited the bots, dangling transactions the bots were designed to attack.
> The moment the bots moved in, the brothers exploited the vulnerability to see the block's contents before it was finalized
> Rerouted $25 MILLION in real crypto out of it and replaced it with worthless illiquid tokens.
> The bots were left holding coins that were effectively worth zero.
> Total execution time: 12 seconds. The length of one Ethereum block.
> Victims reached out asking for the money back. The brothers never responded.
> After the exploit, Anton searched online for "top crypto lawyers," "wire fraud statute of limitations," and "money laundering statute of limitations."
> He misspelled statute as "statue" both times.
> James walked into a bank and asked for a safe deposit box big enough to fit a laptop.
> The DOJ arrested them in May 2024 and called it the first crime of its kind ever charged.
> Each brother faced up to 20 years in prison on three counts of wire fraud and money laundering.
> Their defense: what they did fell within the accepted rules of Ethereum.
> Validators are expected to maximize profits. They just did it better than anyone else.
> The trial lasted four weeks. The jury deliberated until some jurors were reportedly in tears.
> They couldn't agree. The judge declared a mistrial.
> Two MIT graduates exploited Ethereum for $25 MILLION in 12 seconds and a jury still couldn't decide if it was a crime.
That's either the best defense in legal history or the most honest thing anyone has ever said about crypto.
